New Clowns acting weird

[indyjaco]

Hello,

I placed my new false perc Clowns in my tank on Saturday. During the first three days they seemed to be doing fine and eating a combination of mysis and pellets with no additives to the food. They still have not gone to the flakes. During the last two days they have not been eating to what I've seen. They have been demonstrating that they are starting to pair and the smaller fish is being submissive (seizure). The fish are also kicking up the sand and laying on the sand bed from time to time.

Is it normal for them to be not eating during this time and is this normal behavior? The water in the tank is fine and my Firefish is more active then ever.

Do I need to put an additive on the food or is this just a phase?

I did some searching and it answered a couple of my questions. I just don't want the little guys to be heading downhill.

Thanks.

 

[Cliff519]

I have found that when ever I have added a new fish to any of my tanks it would take about a week before they would consistently act normal.

I have never seen mine laying in the sand bed, so that seams odd to me. I would keep a close eye on them for the next week to make sure they do not have a disease of some type.

Unless they are showing signs of a sickness, I would not start to worry to much unless this continues past the first week in your tank.

 

[Zach Vs Ponies]

I look forward to you receiving a reply to this question. I have a black clownfish pair, and the other day I walked by the tank and happened to notice my female laying down in the sand. I approached the glass, and she hopped up and swam away. She has been eating just fine, and this is the only time I've ever seen any odd behavior such as this out of her. This seems similar to the behavior your clownfish is showing.

 

[indyjaco]

The fish look fine and have no signs of disease to me at least. They act normal 95% of the time then this happens.

It look my Firefish about 10 days to finally warm up so hopefully they are doing the same.

 

[fpv930]

Are the clowns the same size or is one def larger than the other. The "seizure" could be submissive or they are bickering for dominance. Only us hobbyist "pair" the fishes. Once they start sleeping in the same area and never stray far from each other then they are "bonded"

My clowns go after each other all the time. The male 'jerks" in front of the female constantly. They have been together since I purchased them in August of 2011.

I have read several forums where the fish are laying on the substrate. Seems to be a common practice. However, mine have never displayed this behavior. Further, I have read the book "Clownfish" by Joyce D. Wilkerson and it has never mentioned this behavior. The book is an excellent read.
If the fish are not to eating, seem lethargic or have a signs of disease... A QT might be in order.

 

[indyjaco]

In my case one is about 10 or 20% larger than the other.

When I get home tonight i'll see how they are doing.

 

[fpv930]

As long as the smaller one is not already a female, then you should be fine. What you are describing seems to be normal behavior.